F1 chief promises "sensational" looking cars from 2021
Thursday 11 January 2018 11:59, UK
Formula 1 cars of the future should resemble futuristic video game designs, according to F1 chief Ross Brawn.
Ahead of the controversial introduction of the Halo head protection device onto cars from this season, F1's owners continue to work on how cars will look and sound when the next big regulation overhaul takes place in 2021.
The Halo has polarised opinion among F1 personnel and fans since it was first tested two years ago and the all-new-for-2018 cars will feature them when they are launched ahead of testing next month.
But, despite acknowledged safety benefits, critics have lamented the Halo's design and world champion Lewis Hamilton said that 2017's season-ending Abu Dhabi GP was "the last race where the cars will look good".
Brawn accepts the first versions of Halo-clad F1 challengers simply look like the safety device has been "stuck on the car" but has promised emerging plans for 2021 look more appealing.
"We've had designers working on the aesthetics of the cars for some time now and the aesthesis of the cars are a really important thing," F1's managing director told Sky Sports F1 when speaking about the sport's post-2020 future.
"I think we've done some great work on how you integrate the Halo, for instance, because it looks like it's just been stuck on the car - which it quite literally has.
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"It's obvious, but when you talk to the fans [they say] the cars have got to look great.
"They've almost got to look like derivatives of video games and evolve in a way where the video games take their key from Formula 1, not the other way round."
Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren and Renault have all revealed concept images in recent years of what a futuristic F1 car - with full canopy - could look like.
In 2017, F1 introduced new aerodynamic rules in part to make cars more attractive and aggressive-looking, but Brawn has promised an even more radical step forward for three years' time.
"I think they'll look sensational," he added.
"We're going to have some great-looking cars in the future, that's a really important thing for us."
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